Apparatus for handling packed metal stock



Oct. 17, 1933.

F. P.- DAHLSTROM APPARATUS FOR HANDLING PACKED METAL STOCK Filed Dec.

1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnuenior Ddhl sirom Oct. 17, 1933.

F. P. DAHLSTRQM l,93l.405

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING PACKED METAL STOCK Filed Dec. 1'7, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 hureni or AHrov-nen Oct. 17, 1933.

F. P. DAHLSTROM APPARATUS FOR HANDLING PACKED METAL STOCK Filed Dec. 1'7, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 '0 I 9 3o 3 as Z 6 %z as x 87 My \J} '26 22 C lnverdor f Trunk P. Dahlsnom Aflorney Patented Oct. 17,1933 I I V I, I

UNlTEDTSTATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR, HANDLING PACKED ,METAL sroox Frank P.'Dahlstrom, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, .Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 17, 1932 Serial No. 647,717

12 Claims. (01. 80-42) The present invention relates in general to the conveyor rollers 1, (only one of such rollers being mechanical handling of metal stock and the like. shown), is transferred broadside, by the usual More particularly, the invention relates to the, kick-off devices, not shown, to the first notch 2 separation or unpacking of flatmetal bars (such p v d d by the Stationary racks 3 e Cooling as spring flats or the like) which have been bed. The latter consists, as is well known, of a, 60

subjected, in pack'formation, to slow cooling or set of such stationary notched racks 3, 3, alterannealing on a cooling bed,of the type, for nating with a similar set of movable notched example, shown in George Patent No. 1,536,205, reeks 4. ovable acks 4, 4 are connected dated May 5, 1925. at each end to eccentrics 5, 5, so as to be movable A In the aforesaid George patent, disclosing a bodily inacircular path, all the time maintaining 6 notched shufiie bar cooling bed, the fiat bars are their para e s With the Stationary racks, d so packed a to r t, edgewise gain t the forperforming substantially half of their movement ward sides of the notches, whereby the pack on aboveand the other half below the plane of said its discharge from the bed is disintegrated and stationary racks. The throw of the eccentrics 5,5 I l5 spread out by gravity on the run-off table, or is such that each notch 6 of the movable racks, 7 other receiving device, provided for the support after Coming into egist y W th a notch 2 ofthe and subsequent conveyance of the individual stationary racks, is carried upwardly and forpieces of stock. However, it is oftentimes desir- Wardly and then downwardly into registry With able, on beds of this type, to so pack the bars the next notch of the stationary racks, so that that they restedgewise against the rear sides of the stock, at each operation of the movable racks, 7 5' the notches, and under these conditions, the isllfted out of a stationary notch and carried final discharge of the pack onto the run-off tafo ward a d deposited in the ,next stationary ble or other receiving device does not procure notch, being thus movable step-by-step across the the desired spreading out of the individual pieces cooling bed. v v of the pack,-the latter instead being deposited Referring now to Fig. 2, each piece of flat stock, in shingle formation, with the pieces overlapping as kicked off sidewise from the rollers 1, 1, slides each other, down in the first stationary notch 2 until its ad.

The present invention overcomes this difficulty vancing, edge strikes the forward side of said by so constructing the notched shuffle bars'of notch; thereupon, according to usual practice,

30 the cooling bed at or near their discharge ends said piece is tipped or turned upwardly until its that each pack in its transfer to the last 0001- upper surface rests against said forward side of ing bed notch is shifted in such a manner that the notch,the mechanism for doing this, as the pieces thereof rest edgewise against the forshown in Fig. 2, comprisinga suitably journalled ward or far side of said notch,thus obtaining on Shaft '7, Whose operating arm 8 is connected by a l 35 its discharge movement from the bed-the same link 9 to an actuating crank or eccentric 10. The gravity disintegration and spreading out of the shaft '7 also has secured thereto, as by a key 11, a pack on the receiving table as is obtained in short arm 12,'the,latter carrying a pivoted rod the aforesaid George patent. Other and fur- 13 which extends through an aperture in the arm ther objects and advantages of the invention will 14 journalled on shaft 7. A spring 15 on the rod 40 appear from the following detaileddescription 13 1s confined between a washer 16, abutting the thereof, reference being had to the'accompanyunder side of arm 14, and the retaining nuts 17 ing drawings, in whichi i at the outer end of said rod,--said spring thus Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in sec-' serving to transmit yieldably to, the arm 14 the tion, of apparatus, embodying the invention. rockingmovements imparted to the shaft '7 and 45 Fig. 2 is a larger scale view in side elevation. arm 12. Said arm 14,,J' 1 d 0n h aft 7. of the pack-forming mechanism. has an upward extension 18, terminating in a shoe Fig. 3 is a fragmentary large'scale diagram, 19 that normally lies just below the rear side matic view partly insection, of the pack-shiftof the first stationary notch 2; following the ing construction. V 1 delivery, as above described, of a piece of stock 50 Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views, similar to Fig. 3, to said notch, the .clockwiserocking of shaf t'fl,

showing the parts in different positions. producedhy a revolution of crank 10, causes the Like reference characters refer to like parts i shoe 19 to swing upwardly, thereby tip'pingthe the different figures. l piece against. the forward side of the notch-into Referring first to Fig. 1, eachhotbar, asicarried, a position of edgewise support uponv the rearside' 55 out longitudinally from the mill 'on' a series of of the notch, followingwhich the shoe 19 resumes by the spring 15 permits such progressive short-,

ening of the swing of shoe 19 as is required .by the gradual thickening of the pack as pieces are successively added thereto.

The formation, as above described, of each pack in the first stationary notch 2 takes place, of"

course, in periods of inaction of the movable racks 4, 4.- ,When said racks 4, 4 are in action, their several notches 6, 6, having clockwise circular motions that register them successively with two adjacent notches of the stationary racks 3, '3, produce the step-by-step travel of the formed pack or packs across the cooling bed, substantially in the manner set forth in the aforesaid George patent. Ultimately, by the action of the last one 6' of the series of moving notches 6, 6, each pack so formed and handled is deposited in a final stationary notch 20,the diagram of Fig. 3 illustrating such a pack (marked A) in the act of being so deposited, following which the racks 4, 4 descend to their lowest position, as shown in Fig. 4. The pack A is thus initially deposited in the final stationary notch 20 in the same relative position that it occupied in each of the preceding stationary notches,-that is, with its base in advance of its top, and with the several pieces resting edgewise against the rear side 21 of the notch. The latter, as best shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, has a spread or elongation corresponding substantially to two of the preceding stationary notches, the rear side 21 being spaced from the front side 22 by a prolonged convex bottom surface 23; stated another way, this final stationary notch 20 is the equivalent, in effect, of two notches merged into one, and with the relatively low crown of surface 23, instead of a sharp high peak, dividing them. As shown in Fig. 4, the pack A is deposited in the crotch or angle between the rear side 21 and the convex bottom 23 of final stationary notch 20, and in this position is acted upon by a final movable notch 24 of special construction, as hereinafter described.

This final movable notch 24, unlike the preceding movable notches 6 and 6, has its rear side 25 at a relatively steep angle and with much deeper penetration below the tops of racks 4, 4; a bottom fiat surface 26 lies between the steep rear side 25 and the opposite or forward side 27 of this notch, said side 27 terminating in a peak 28 somewhat lower than the peaks between the several preceding movable notches 6 and 6'. From its peak 28, each movable rack is formed with a downwardly sloping end surface 29, which substantially parallels a similarly downwardly sloping end surface 30 of each stationary rack 3, 3, lying beyond the final stationary notch 20.

With'a pack received in said final stationary notch 20 in the position marked A in Fig. 4, the next operation of the movable racks 4, 4, as shown in Fig. 5,'initially carries the final movable notch 24' rearwardly, thereby to dispose the steep side 25 of said notch inoperative relation to said pack at position A. Further movement of racks 4, 4,

upwardly, and forwardly, engages said steep side 25 with the pack at position A, and pushes it up and along the convex surface 23, as indicated Fig. 6, by the intermediate pack position A. Moving still further forward, and at the same time downwardly, this steep side 25 pushes the pack over the crest of the-convex surface 23, whereupon it may slip forward by gravity into edgewise contact with the forward side 27 of movable notch 24, so that as said side 27 is carried past the forward side 22 of stationary notch 20, as indicated in Fig. 3, the pack is left in the position B in the crotch of angle betweferi side 22 and convex surface 23 ofthe last stationary notch 20,-having been turnedintliis process through approximately 90.- Said pack remains in this position B while the racks 4, 4 are completing their downward movement, as shown in Fig. '4, and then on the next ensuing motion of said racks, as depicted in Fig. 5, the inclined end surface 29, initially moving rearwardly and upwardly, engages the pack in position B from beneath, and pushes it bodily up the side of surface 22 of stationary notch 20. In consequence, the pack at B has its several pieces, beginning with the topmost piece, successively elevated past the peak 31 of inclined end surface 30, thus permitting each piece as it reaches said elevation to slide down by gravity, separately, on said inclined end surface 30, as shown at C in Fig. 6i In this way, the pieces arrive singly and separately on the run-ofi table or other receiving device'indicated at 32; the latter may comprise a flat-surfaced conveyor of the well known shuffle bar type, arranged to secure the broadside delivery of indi vidual pieces thereon to a set of conveyor rollers 33,or, if desired, said rollers 33 may receive the individual pieces directly from the end inclines 30 of the stationary racks 3, 30f the cooling bed.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a carry-over cooling bed, having notches for the support and movement of pieces in pack formation, said notches each having forward and rear'sides, the former being in advance of the latter in the direction of movement of the packs, of means for forming each pack with its pieces resting edgewise against the rear side of a notch, and means oper ativeon each pack, before its discharge from the bed, to turn it bodily, so that its pieces rest edgewise against the for ward side of a notch, thereby to obtain the disintegration of said pack by gravity.

2. A'cooling bed of the class described, having stationary members and movable members each equipped with notchesfor the support and movement of packsof pieces, each of said notches have ing forward and rear sides, the former being in advance of the latter in the direction of movement of the packs, with each piece resting edgewise against the rear surface of the notch occupied-by its pack, and other notches in said members adjacent their delivery ends, said last-named notches cooperating to turn each pack forwardly substan tially as a unit into edgewise engagement of its pieces with the forward surface of a notch, thereby to obtain on the dischargeof said pack from said bed the separation of its pieces by gravity.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a set of of the packs, with the pieces of each pack resting Y edgewise against the rear surfaces of said notches; and other notches insaid members cooperating to turn each pack bodily forwardly, before its discharge from said members, to position the pieces of the pack in edgewise engagement with the forward surface of a notch, thereby to procure, on the discharge movement, the disintegration by gravity of said pack.

4. The combination with a cooling bed, and means for advancing packs of bars on said bed with the base of each pack in advance of the top thereof, of means for turning each of said packs substantially as a unit to position the top of said packs in advance of the base thereof, and means for thereafter procuring disintegration of the packs and delivery of the bars one byone.

5. The combination with a cooling bed, and means for advancing packs of bars on said bed with the base of each pack in advance of thetop thereof, of means for turning each of said packs substantially as a unit to position the top of said packs in advance of the base thereof, and means forming part of said advancing means for procuring disintegration of said packs and delivery of the bars one by one.

6. The combination with a cooling bed, means for forming individual packs of bars with the base of each pack in advance of the top thereof, and means for advancing said packs of bars on said bed, of means for turning each of said packs substantially as a unit to position the tops of said packs in advance of the bases thereof, and means for thereafter procuring disintegration of the packs and delivery of the bars one by one.

7. In a cooling bed, a set of notched stationary members in which packs of bars are supported, and a set of notched movable members for procuring advance of said packs of bars on said stationary members, one set of members having arcuate surfaces, and the other set of members having steep-sided notches cooperating with said arcuate surfaces for turning each of said packs of bars as a unit.

8. In a cooling bed, a set of notched stationary members in which packs of bars 'are supported, and a set of notched movable members for procuring advance of said packs of bars on said stationary members, one set of said members having arcuate surfaces, and the other set having steep-sided notches cooperating with said arcuate surfaces for turning each of said packs of bars substantially as a unit, in response to the relative movement of said stationary and movin advance of the latter in the direction of movement of the packs, means for forming each pack and movable members, said members having withthe pieces thereof in edgewise engagement with the rear sides of said matching notches, said members having other notches cooperating, in

response to the carry-over movements of said movable members, to turn each pack bodily through substantially before its discharge from the bed, with the pieces of each pack resting edgewise against the forward side of the notches.

10. A carry-over cooling bed, having stationary and movable members, said members having matching notches for the support and movement of pieces in packed formation, each of said notches having forward and rear sides, the former being in advance of the latter in the direction of movement of the packs, means for a forming each pack with the pieces thereof in edgewise engagement with the rear sides of said matching notches, said members havingother notches for shifting eachpack bodily so that the pieces thereof bear edgewise against the forward sides of said notches before the discharge of the pack from the bed.

11. A carry-over cooling bed, having stationary,

matching notches for the support and movement of pieces in packed formation, each of said notches having forward and rear sides, the former being in advance of the latter in the direction of movement of the packs, means for forming each pack with the pieces thereof in edgewise engagement with the rear sides of said matching notches, said members having other notches including an elongated stationary notch having a convex bottom surface, whereon each pack, before its dis charge from the bed and in response to the movements of the movable members, is turned through substantiallyv 90, to establish edgewise contact of its pieces with the forward side of said elongated notch.

12. A carry-over cooling bed, having stationary and movable members, said members having matching notches for the support and movement of pieces in packed formation, each of said notches having forward and rear sides, the former being in advance of the latter in the direction of I movement of the packs, means for forming each pack with the pieces thereof in edgewise engagement with the rear sides of said matching notches, said membershaving other notches ineluding a steep-sided movable notch cooperating with an elongated stationary notch havinga convex bottom surface, whereon each pack, before its discharge from the bed and in response to the movements. of the movable members, is turned through substantially 90, to establish edgewise contact of its pieces with'the forward side of said elongated notch.

FRANK P. DAHLSTROM. 

